There comes a time when something that has never been an
issue all of a sudden becomes one for you. This happened to me a few weeks ago.
I’ve never much been concerned about the Confederate flag, whether it is flown
singularly or as part of the Mississippi state flag. I truly believe that there
are much more important things that we should be dealing with at this time, but
others have deemed the flag to be the most important.

Arguments on both sides of the issue run from the ridiculous
to the profound. The idea that the flag is not official is one of my favorites.
If you can live with someone for a few years and have that considered a legal
marriage, then surely a flag can be flown for over one hundred years and have
it become official. I also don’t buy the argument that the confederate flag is
responsible for all the African-American strife in this state either. Sid
Salter pointed out in an editorial in July that the current flag is not even
the flag that flew during the Civil War. The current flag has taken on far too
much significance—as a symbol of oppression and as a symbol of pride.

Eliminating or changing the flag seems to be the easy way
out of this. Nothing will change. Eliminating the flag will not make up for
past wrongs; it will not make everything perfect in the African-American
community. Nor will eliminating the flag destroy the heritage that so many
proclaim. The heritage that factions are trying to preserve is in the hearts
and minds of those who live, not in a flag.

I could be more in favor of preserving the flag should I
ever see it used to honor our heritage but that is not what I see. What I see
are groups using the flag as a symbol of hate and divisiveness. At the same I
hear arguments that the flag is not a symbol of hate, I drive through parts of
southern Mississippi where I see bumper stickers that depict a capitol building
with the Confederate flag over it and the words “I have a dream”—an obvious
reference to Martin Luther King Jr.’s now famous speech—next to it. I can’t buy
that the people driving those vehicles are not racists and have no other
interest at heart other preserving Southern heritage.

The real question we have to answer is one that I’ve never
heard asked: ”What should we do as Christians, as a church?” Given time, given
the opportunity to discuss and debate, I’m certain we could come up with
several points of view but I ask myself, what would Jesus do? I believe He
would suggest that we eliminate the flag and get on with the true issues at hand.
Getting rid of the flag would be, in effect, turning the other cheek; it would
quite simply be the right thing to do. If we removed that one obstacle then
perhaps we could begin to address the true cause of the problems we have in
this state.

Thomas Sowell, a conservative African-American fellow at the
Hoover Institute, also wrote a short essay on reparations for slavery last
July. There are several similarities between the debate of reparations and the
Mississippi flag, but one point he made points to why we should eliminate the
current state flag. Sowell says, “Whites may experience a passing annoyance
over the reparations [flag?] issue, but blacks—especially young
blacks—can sustain more lasting damage from misallocating their time, attention
and efforts.”

Eliminating the Mississippi state flag will not make anyone
more educated, it will not eliminate poverty in any corner of this state, nor
will it dishonor any of our ancestors, but it will clear the path, at least
partially, so that we may begin the work of easing tensions between the races,
allow us to focus on the cause of the problems and not on the symbols of those
problems. I believe that if we ultimately remove all of the excuses, tear down
all the barriers, and open the doors to communicate, we will eventually have to
address the real problems.

We as Christians, as a church, owe it to ourselves and to
our Brothers and Sisters in Christ to lead the way to eliminate this symbol and
to allow true healing to begin. It has been suggested that Trinity take a stand
on this issue and Overture Presbytery to also take a stand on the issue. Such a
step would be a welcome addition to the heated debate on this topic and may
help bring some resolution. Why should we do it? Because it is the right thing
to do. Because a man had a dream once, a dream “that one day…little black
boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and
white girls as sisters and brothers.”